This invention relates to a device for use in the daily care of human teeth and gums. More particularly, this invention relates to a mouthpiece type device for cleaning the teeth and gums with a plurality of fluid spray jets operated in a new and novel way.
In the prior art, a number of methods and devices have been developed for caring for the teeth and gums. The toothbrush, one of the oldest implements in the art, has recently been recognized as an inept solution to the problem of oral hygiene care. Not only has the usage of the toothbrush generally been inadequate in terms of the amount of time and energy devoted to each brushing, but even when properly used, the toothbrush cannot reach many of the harmful organisms found in the crevices of the teeth and gums. With continued usage, the nylon bristles found in many toothbrushes cause significant damage to both the tooth surfaces and the supporting gum tissue.
Mouthpiece type toothbrushes have been developed to simultaneously clean a plurality of tooth and gum surfaces as shown by U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,084 to W. Cole. Although these devices do contact a larger surface than the conventional toothbrush, they are still subject to the same deficiencies as the toothbrush.
One attempt to answer the problems presented by toothbrush type structures has appeared in the form of a fluid jet or spray device. The fluid jet device represents an improvement over the toothbrush inasmuch as it is able to more effectively remove bacterial deposits and food residue from between the teeth and gums.
Initially, fluid jet devices appeared in the form of a modified toothbrush which merely issued fluid jets from the head of the brush. Unfortunately, although these new devices cleaned the teeth and gums better than ordinary toothbrushes, they only did a better cleaning job on the areas where the fluid jets were manually directed, and hence were susceptible to the same improper usage which contributed to the inadequacy of the toothbrush.
To avoid this problem, cuff like members which embraced the teeth and gums were developed which included internal chambers to receive fluid. A plurality of perforations were provided in these inner chambers from which fluid under pressure could be emitted in the form of jet streams against the teeth and gums. Such devices are disclosed in a plurality of issued United States patents as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,379,192, 3,481,329 and 3,489,141 to L. G. Warren, Jr., 3,527,218 to J. R. Westline and 3,669,101 to W. Kleiner. In each of these devices, the user merely places the cuff-like member in his mouth and applies fluid under pressure to the member, usually from a nearby water faucet. The teeth and gums are then simultaneously and automatically cleaned by a plurality of fluid jets.
In actuality, however, these mouthpiece type fluid jet devices have not proven to be the ideal solution to inadequate oral hygiene. Even with the use of a plurality of stationary fluid jets directed against the tooth and gum surfaces, some areas still do not receive direct bombardment by the jet spray and hence are not adequately cleaned. It is impossible to have jet sprays directed toward every area of the tooth and gums since this would require essentially an infinite number of jet sprays.
In the event a structure could be made which could eject a nearly infinite number of jet sprays, the available fluid supply would not provide enough pressure to accomplish adequate cleaning. Also close proximity of the jets would cause the fluid first arriving at the surface of the teeth and gums to form a fluid film over the food residue to be removed. This fluid film then would act to buffer the food residue from the direct impact of subsequent fluid; a phenomena described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,870,039 to Moret et al.
Of even greater importance is the fact that a mouthpiece fluid jet device designed to provide a large number of jet sprays would multiply the greatest problem experienced with mouthpiece plural jet devices; namely the fluid drainage problem. With all known mouthpiece devices, water flows continuously from a plurality of orifices until a faucet or other remote valve is manually operated. Water soon fills the oral cavities of a user and it is then difficult for the user to eject water through the mouth faster than water is provided to the mouthpiece. Should a user choke while the mouthpiece is receiving water, it is often impossible to manually manipulate a remote valve rapidly enough to prevent serious choking on the incoming water. The only effective remedy with present devices is to remove the mouthpiece which is still spraying water with the result that everything within range is thoroughly soaked.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a fluid spray device for oral hygiene which obviates the problems of the prior art devices.
A more specific object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved fluid spray device for bombarding the teeth and gums with a plurality of non-stationary fluid jet sprays which sweep across the teeth and gum surfaces in response to a chewing motion by the user.
Another object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved fluid spray device adapted to direct fluid jet sprays against the teeth and gums of a user which includes a valve actuated by the teeth of a user to control the flow of fluid to the device; and
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved fluid spray device adapted to direct pulsating fluid jet sprays against the teeth and gums in a sweeping up and down movement in response to chewing motions by a user.